


Between the Lines

by misfitmonarchy



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves is Alive, F/M, Gen, Good Brother Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, There's a plot in here somewhere, ben hargreeves is a flirt, ben hargreeves loves starbucks, meet cute, reggie only got 7, self indulgent mess, the hargreeves kids love starbucks, there are more super kids, ya boy decided there were more super kiddos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 15:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18672112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misfitmonarchy/pseuds/misfitmonarchy
Summary: Caitlynn stared at herself in the mirror. Her long brown hair was down for once, free from it’s usual high ponytail. She closes her eyes and thinks about someone else’s face. When she opens her eyes, a stranger’s face looks back. One that has green eyes instead of her regular brown ones, with smooth tanned skin instead of her usual freckled and pale skin--Denver closes her eyes, and when they open she sees inside the house. From where she’s positioned she can see how big everything is in comparison to her body. A pet snake, it would seem. She slithers up the edge of the tank, watching the man disarm another, some petty thief that has the terrified family members tied up and holding a gun to their head.--In October 1989, 43 women gave birth. None of these women had been pregnant when the day first began. Reginald Hargreeves, a recognized billionaire and scientist made it his mission to find as many of these children and study them. He got 7 of them.





	Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my self indulgent mess, written for a friend who wanted some Ben Hargreeves lovin'... now it has a plot line set up and idk if i'm continuing it yet or not but basically: welcome to my hot mess. 
> 
> ENJOY :D

In October 1989, 43 women gave birth. None of these women had been pregnant when the day first began. Reginald Hargreeves, a recognized billionaire and scientist made it his mission to find as many of these children and study them. He got 7 of them. 

 

As the years wore on, he trained the children to harness the special abilities they exhibited. To keep track of the children, Mr. Hargreeves assigned each child with a number, ranging from One, a blond haired boy who would later respond to the name Luther and gifted with unsurmountable strength; all the way to Seven, a drab girl with nothing quite special about her at all. She did have a small affinity for adequately playing the violin, though not as impressive as Five’s ability for spatial jumping.

 

At the age of eleven, when the children breached the barriers of pubescence, Mr. Hargreeves created them a mother. A robotic artificial intelligence that was programmed with all of the most complicated softwares. She was the perfect mother. She was the perfect barrier to keep the children at an arm’s length.

__

 

_ Seventeen years later… _

 

Caitlynn stared at herself in the mirror. Her long brown hair was down for once, free from it’s usual high ponytail. She closes her eyes and thinks about someone else’s face. When she opens her eyes, a stranger’s face looks back. One that has green eyes instead of her regular brown ones, with smooth tanned skin instead of her usual freckled and pale skin. 

 

“You’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up!” Becca calls from the hallway, Caitlynn’s roommate and best friend for the past ten years. She blinks quickly and her features revert back to normal. 

 

The tanned, green eyed stranger vanishes from the mirror and Caitlynn grabs her things and runs out. 

 

“I’m coming!” She says, pointedly ignoring Becca rolling her eyes. She steals a drink of her roommates coffee and cringes. “Ugh, how can you drink this crap?”

 

“What, because it doesn’t have half a pound of sugar in it?”

 

_ “Yes.” _

 

Becca scoffs and shoves Caitlynn to the door. “Get out of here, or you’ll miss your bus again.”

 

“Gee, love you too.” She snorts, grabbing her wallet at the last second before stuffing it in her bag and rushing out of their apartment. 

 

She has to power walk to the bus stop, but that’s mostly due to the fact that Caitlynn doesn’t run. She would rather watch that stupid bus leave just as she gets there than run. 

 

The driver punches the creased pass she holds out, and Caitlynn barely sits in one of the seats before the bus lurches away from the curb, making her bump into her seat partner. 

 

“Sorry.” She says, fumbling with her bag. 

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Caitlynn can hear the smile in the man’s voice even before she looks up. Beside her sits and asian man wearing a leather coat. A yellow hoodie is under it, and the color suits him, especially with the polite smile he gives her. 

 

Without meaning to, she stares openly at the stranger. There’s something about him that makes this place somewhere behind her bellybutton twist tightly. It almost feels like that familiar tingle that bursts over her skin whenever she uses her powers.

 

“My name’s Ben.” He says, smiling a bit more. Caitlynn feels her face flush before tucking some hair behind her ear. 

 

“Catilynn.” She says back. 

 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Caitlynn.” Ben says. The tight twisting feeling doesn’t go away until after Ben gets off on his stop. Later when Caitlynn is working, she can’t stop thinking back to him. Sure, he was cute and all… but there was  _ something _ about him. 

 

For the life of her she couldn’t place it. 

 

\--

Denver stood on the rooftop of the old church. Here, she blended into the shadows like they were old friends. Here, she could sit comfortably while she watched the masked man break into the back door of a family’s home. 

 

She doesn’t leave her post, she doesn’t investigate-- she doesn’t have to. Denver closes her eyes, and when they open she sees inside the house. From where she’s positioned she can see how big everything is in comparison to her body. A pet snake, it would seem. She slithers up the edge of the tank, watching the man disarm another, some petty thief that has the terrified family members tied up and holding a gun to their head. 

 

“Who are you?” Asks the father when the masked man frees them. The vigilante doesn’t answer, ignoring the dead robber slumped on the ground and staring at the TV. Denver slithers closer, but most of the screen is blocked by the masked man. 

 

_ “--ientist Reginald Hargreeves has died today--” _ Denver watches how the mask man holds onto the words of the reporter speaking on the cracked screen. The family doesn’t dare to move until after the masked man leaves. 

 

“Noodles, you okay?” A young boy picks up the body Denver was watching through and she pulls away, blinking back to her own body. She watches as the man, who she’s almost now certain is a part of that bad joke of  _ superheroes _ . The Umbrella Academy. A group of kids she used to idolize. 

 

Denver remembers a time when she would read every article, hang onto the fact that there were kids like  _ her _ out there. But then realized the truth. They weren’t heroes, they were a group of broken kids like her, with no parents and no idea what the hell they were doing. 

 

At one time she had wanted to be like them. Not anymore. 

 

Denver turns tail and heads back to where she’s sure the man has fled: the infamous Umbrella Academy mansion. 

 

What she would have given to have grown up in such a castle, instead of the many foster homes that she had jumped to and from. 

 

\---

 

Caitlynn is making her ninth caramel macchiato frappa-whatever with non-fat this and that when that familiar gut twisting-too-tight-can’t breathe feeling comes back. She nearly spills the drink, handing it out and looking around the cafe and coming face to face with the perpetrator. 

 

Ben looks just as surprised to see her as Caitlynn is to see him. 

 

“Hey. You’re uh…” He drops his eyes to her name tag and Caitlynn can’t help but feel part of her wilt. “Caitlynn! Right! From the bus!” Ben smiles, leaning on the counter. Catilynn’s coworker smirks and raises a brow, no doubt planning to ask her later who the handsome stranger was and how they knew her. 

 

“Yeah,” She smiles, adjusting her apron and taking cash while her coworker goes back to finishing the next order. “That’s me, can I get you anything?” Caitlynn watches the way Ben’s eyes scrutinize the board. 

 

“Surprise me.” He says. 

 

“Well…” She trails off, turning so she too can look over what they have, “Do you like sweets?” She asks over her shoulder, glancing back at Ben. He’s smiling at her now, not the board. 

 

“Yeah, what’s your favorite one? I’ll get whichever that one is.” Ben says. 

 

Caitlynn falters, feeling a bit red as she turns back to the cash and starts putting in her regular order. “Are you sure?”

 

Ben’s eyes are bright as he nods his head. “Yeah. Definitely sure.” She makes him a cotton candy frappuccino with light whip. She also gives him ten percent off his purchase but Ben doesn’t need to know that. 

 

“Thanks.” Ben says, holding up the white drink, before leaving. Caitlynn can’t stop from grinning at the screen on the till, ‘fixing’ the cups that are stacked beside it ready for grabbing to write orders on. 

 

“Who was that?” Andrew, the coworker who was currently making someone a latte, asks her.

 

“No one.” She answers a little too quickly. Andrew raises his brows at her with a knowing grin. 

 

_ “Whatever you say.”  _ He singsongs before reading out the order in his hand. 

 

\--

 

Ben starts coming every day. Like clockwork, at one thirty every day (except apparently, when she’s not working) and has Caitlynn make him something. 

 

“What are you having today?” She asks, alreadying anticipating the usual ‘Surprise me’ Ben always says. 

 

He smiles at her and then glances at his phone. “I’m actually picking up a few things, uh so can I just--?” He fumbles with the phone and turns it to face her. A text from someone named ‘Allison’ has a list of several drinks. 

 

Caitlynn quirks her brow, looking back at Ben. The always-churning feeling in her gut when he’s around churns a little harder. “You’re girlfriend drinks a lot of coffee.” She teases, trying to hide her disappointment as she starts ringing in the list of six other drinks. 

 

A caramel macchiato with extra whip and blonde espresso; a vanilla bean frappuccino with raspberry syrup; a mango dragon fruit lemonade with light ice and extra base; a large black coffee; a hazelnut latte and finally; a cinnamon cloud macchiato. 

 

“Oh! No!” Ben exclaims while she presses all the buttons accordingly to the orders. She glances over in time to see a disgusted expression. “My sister! She’s--” Caitlynn sighs a little out of relief through her nose. “Allison is my sister.” Ben says, waving his hands in the air to make his point. “And this is actually for all my siblings who are coincidently too lazy to come into the store with me and too noisy to get along long enough to go through the drive through.” He messes with his hair, smiling more as he spoke. Caitlynn can’t help but smile back, it’s as if Ben’s grin is contagious. 

 

“You have a lot of siblings, huh?” She remarks, counting out six cups as she writes the orders on each one. Ben laughs a little, ducking his head. 

 

“You have no idea.” 

 

“Is there any other drinks?” She asks. A few more people have joined the line, but she doesn’t really care, they can wait. Andrew starts making the drinks while Ben leans onto the counter. 

 

“One more,” Ben smiles, “it’s for me, so surp--”

 

“--rise you.” Caitlynn interrupts, smirking at him. Ben’s cheeks flush a little and he plays with one of the little displays. 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

“Hot or cold, today?” She asks, already ringing in his order, and discounting his order by ten percent.

 

“Cold.” He says, pulling out his wallet. 

 

Caitlynn can’t stop smiling the rest of the day afterwards, but that might also be because Ben tipped her five dollars on top of everything else.

 

\--

Denver follows a different man tonight. He’s different from the others, he doesn’t show any powers that are particularly dangerous. He’s also high as a kite. 

 

She drops down from the fire escape she’d been watching him from, and the sound scares off the hooded man who’d been about to shake hands with him. A drug deal, meh. She didn’t feel so bad. 

 

“Hey! What the hell, man!” He yells after the man. 

 

“I’d say I’m sorry but I’m really not.” Denver says. The man whirls around, wide eyes assessing her. 

 

“Not cool, dude.  _ Not _ cool.” He points at her accusingly, but she just rolls her eyes. His black fluffy coat might shield him from the chilling breeze but it doesn’t hide his lithe form. She could easily take him down if she wanted, talk about a disappointment. 

“You’re the one they call number four right? From the umbrella academy?”

 

The brunet laughs hysterically. “Are you kidding me?” He looks to his left as if to ask someone else their opinion but there’s no one there. “Do you believe this guy?” He gets out a cigarette and lights it, frowning as he steps closer. “Oh, not a guy. My bad.” 

 

“Whatever. You’re him right?” 

 

“If by him you mean a washed up drug addict who is currently pissed that you scared off the nice man with the candy; then  _ yes. _ ” He rolls his eyes and then takes another drag. “You’re a rude little thing, you know that?” 

 

“Fuck off.” Denver replies and Number Four laughs. 

 

“So what, you’re here to kill me? Because that’s all fine and dandy but my brother might have an issue with it. He’s got this whole, emo-vigilante thing going on.” Denver sighs, stepping closer and dropping her hood. 

 

“I wanted to ask for your help, actually.” She says, taking the cigarette when Number Four offers it. She takes a drag and exhales through her nose. She passes it back to him, and he leans against the alley wall. 

 

“What could I possibly help you with?” He asks and then waves a hand at her quickly, pointing at her. “ _ Nay _ , the better question is  _ why _ should I help you?” 

 

“Because I’m like you!” She exclaims, fists clenched. It’s the first time she’s managed to confront one of these umbrella kids and this isn’t how she planned it to go. 

 

“Say what now?”

 

“I can… I can  _ do things _ .” She reiterates. Number Four frowns at her, and seems to actually  _ look  _  at her this time. He takes in her black clothes, the way they look this they’ve been worn for more than a few days, how her hair is mostly a mess and not likely just from wearing her hood. He looks at the bags under her eyes that are all too familiar to him. She’s a runner, a type of person he’s seen thousands of times in his own dealings with homeless and drug dealers and shelters. 

 

“You can… like what?” 

 

Denver bites her lip, remembering the articles she’d looked up to as a kid and then back to the mess of a man in front of her. She can’t really remember much about Number Four’s powers, he wasn’t usually the main focus of those articles. 

 

“I can see things, through other people’s… other animal’s eyes.” 

“Isn’t that a little intrusive?”

 

“You think I want to see them?” She asks, frowning at him. 

 

Number Four’s expression twists to something of pity before hanging his head. “Alright, alright. What’s your name, kid?”

 

“Denver.” 

 

“Is that your real name? Oh who am i kidding, it’s probably not. I mean, even I don’t have a  _ real name _ . Call me Klaus. It’s so much more sexy than ‘ _ number four’ _ ” He imitates a deep and ridiculous accent. Denver smiles a little, dipping her head. 

 

“So you’ll help me?”

 

“I mean… I’ll try.” He offers, looking up at the street lights and glancing down the way his dealer ran off.  “Got any cash?”

 

Denver sighs through her nose, before pulling out the small amount of bills she’s got, mostly from pickpocketing strangers, until she finds what she’s looking for. “I have something better,” 

 

Klaus raises an inquisitive brow before looking at her hand. “Oh?” 

 

Denver offers him one of the three credit cards she’d picked in the last week. “Pick a card, any card.” 

 

Klaus grins, “I think I’m gonna end up  _ liking  _ you” He crows as he plucks a deep red colored card from her hand and leading the way to the nearest liquor store. 

\---

 

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to leave KUDOS, COMMENT and SHARE! <3
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> i'm [misfitmonarchythings](https://misfitmonarchythings.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


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